BAPTISM OF LUCA HARLOW LONGACRE
JULY 5, 2026
FR. JERRY THOMPSON
ST. JAMES’ CHURCH, FREMONT, NE
This weekend our country is celebrating 250 years of existence as an independent nation.
This morning, we celebrate bringing Luca Harlow Longacre into a kingdom that has lasted a lot, lot longer than the United States. In fact, the kingdom of God has always been around because God has always been around and has always governed all that exists - including the scrappy little nations of the earth that come and go, unlike the eternal God himself.
So if we’re going to be excited about something this morning, let’s be excited about God’s reign, that eternal kingdom into which we usher Luca today, with great joy,
and with great thanksgiving - great thanksgiving to God.
The kind of thanksgiving that fills the heart of the psalmist in our psalm this morning:
10 All your works praise you, O Lord, * and your faithful servants bless you.
11 They make known the glory of your kingdom * and speak of your power;
12 That the peoples may know of your power * and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; * your dominion endures throughout all ages.
And what is the nature of our God who reigns? The psalmist proclaims that, too, this morning:
8 The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, * slow to anger and of great kindness.
9 The Lord is loving to everyone * and his compassion is over all his works. . .
14 The Lord is faithful in all his words * and merciful in all his deeds.
15 The Lord upholds all those who fall; * he lifts up those who are bowed down.
That’s the nature of God and the nature of God’s kingdom. And it’s the nature of those who strive to live within that kingdom, both individuals and the nations of the earth.
And it’s the expectation God has for all the nations of the earth, to reflect his gracious and loving ways.
It’s important to remember this weekend that when our nation is gracious and loving and compassionate and faithful and merciful and holding up those who fall, we truly have so much to celebrate than when we are not those things, because we reflect the love of God, the love all the peoples of the earth, all the nations of the earth, are called to reflect. And when we are not those things, we have much to mourn, for we are following the ways of another god.
It’s almost like you can hear these words and this sentiment from Psalm 45 rolling around in Jesus’ heart as he speaks to his followers - to us - in our gospel reading this morning:
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. “Take my yoke upon you, “and learn from me; “for I am gentle and humble in heart, “and you will find rest for your souls.”
Come to me, individuals and peoples, nations. Be part of my kingdom. Because living according to my ways will lead to rest, and an incomparable peace. It’s where you will find life. Life with me. That’s the reign, that’s the way, into which we want to inaugurate Luca this morning.
But, you know, Luca’s not very old. So very quickly Luca will learn that this salvation, this wholeness, that Jesus offers him is a communal reality. It’s not just physical food and clothes and shelter for which he will depend on his loved ones. It is also spiritual food, which is every bit as necessary for life – true life – as physical food – if not more necessary.
You parents and other baptismal sponsors play a vital role in Luca’s life in the coming years. This morning you’re promising to fulfill the responsibility of helping Luca to know what it means to dwell as a part of God’s family, to live in God’s kingdom from this day forward, with allegiance first and foremost to that kingdom and no other.
The rest of us are not left off the hook either, because we are standing in for Luca’s home faith community. Its members could not all be here this morning! So we are acting on their behalf when we assent that we are going to do all in our power to support Luca
in his life of faith.
It’s a powerful reminder of the promise we make to support one another in the life of faith, day in and day out, year in and year out. It’s a work we never retire from, because it’s a work that always needs to be done.
And when we are old and frail and lying in bed, part of our support will be allowing others to support us, and offering them our love in return, in the name of Jesus and in the heart of Jesus.
Allowing ourselves to be loved is a ministry in and of itself to the lover. As a recipient of that ministry many times over, I assure you of its power. All of this points to one other thing I want to say this morning. Baptism isn’t about guaranteeing that we’ll get to heaven. Let me repeat that. Baptism is not about guaranteeing that we’ll get to heaven.
That kind of theology leads to baptizing Luca and then not caring what the nature of his life is, and not helping him grow in a trusting relationship with Jesus Christ, a relationship of faith within a community of faith, a community striving to live in the fulness of God’s reign, striving to serve God with this life, not to serve ourselves.
Baptism of infants is about the beginning – the beginning of a life-long journey of growing ever more deeply in faithful living with Jesus, as he sometimes walks alongside us, sometimes pulls us forward, and sometimes pushes us from behind – always together with our sisters and brothers striving to live in faith with us, together doing what we can never do alone for the kingdom of God.
This journey requires work, and it requires determination. And it requires a whole lot of love.
Love of ourselves, as maddening as we ourselves can sometimes be. Love of others, as maddening as they can be. And most of all, love of Jesus – as maddening as he can sometimes be – or to us, imperfect as we are, as maddening as he can sometimes appear to be, as he continually calls us to live as faithfully as we possibly can in a broken world.
Now I’d say it’s about time we do this thing! If the parents and other baptismal sponsors will bring Luca to the font, I’ll meet you there. I’d also invite children to join us so you can see what’s happening.
Despite what the bulletin says, the rest of you can sit or stand or whatever you wish as we proceed.